Jack's Grill a great place to wet your whistle while waiting for dinner

Mike Woodrum, left, and Ed Duggan are staples at Redding's famous Jack's Grill

If someone asked me to pick one establishment to define the richness, history and character of Redding, I'd go with Jack's Grill. It's encoded in the DNA of most longtime north state residents for good reason.

Prior to hunkering down for a small New York steak (at least that's always my order), the tradition requires one to hover for a while with a drink served by renowned bartender Mike Woodrum.

Don Conley, who's owned Jack's for nearly 36 years, recalls the commonplace occurrence of seeing Woodrum handle 15 to 20 drink orders at once without asking for a single reminder. It's become almost an urban legend that Woodrum can remember anyone's drink no matter how long it's been since he's served them.

"I can't imagine of how he does it," Conley says. "He's as good as I've ever seen."

Woodrum, however, believes he's slipping at bit.

"I was really good at one time," he says. "Now I'm OK. I've been here 33 years and it's not quite as easy as it once was."

No matter. It's all part of the lore.

The deep soul of Jack's perpetuates – in part -- from the family-like feel of the staff. Aside from Conley and Woodrum's combined six decades, many others are long into the story.

Denise Rapinoe, the mother of famous U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, has worked there for more than two decades. Talk about a feel-good narrative -- Jack's was ground zero last summer as Rapinoe helped lead the Americans to the gold medal in London.

She later stopped in with her medals and warmed up the locals elated to see her.

"It's been a tremendous ride and we're all so proud of Megan," Woodrum said. "She's a real humble person, a fantastic person."

On Monday, Jack's bartender Ed Duggan proposed a toast to Woodrum on the eve of his return to work after an extended break following surgery. It was a warm lifting of the glasses.

At one time (before World War II), Jack's Grill was one of 20 bars along California Street that survived on the patronage of dam workers, miners, loggers and others. And for one brief juncture, it's true, a man could pay for the intimacy he couldn't charm.

But today, Jack's stands as genuine and savory slice of the character of far Northern California. So here's a toast to the next 75 years.